This time last year I sat in a small room at the Law Society surrounded by far more luminary individuals such as Simon Singh and Dara à Briain for the launch of the report Free Speech is Not for Sale, which highlighted the oppressive nature of English libel law. In short, the law is extremely hostile to writers, while being unreasonably friendly towards powerful corporations and individuals who want to silence critics. The guests heard from scientists, comedians, and journalists who had been gagged by these laws.
The English libel law is particular dangerous for bloggers, who are generally not backed by publishers, and who can end up being sued in London regardless of where the blog was posted. The internet allows bloggers to reach a global audience, but it also allows the High Court in London to have a global reach.
You can read more about the peculiar and grossly unfair nature of English libel law at the website of the Libel Reform Campaign. You will see that the campaign is not calling for the removal of libel law, but for a libel law that is fair and which would allow writers a reasonable opportunity to express their opinion and then defend it.
The good news is that the British Government has made a commitment to draft a bill that will reform libel, but it is essential that bloggers and their readers send a strong signal to politicians so that they follow through on this promise. You can do this by joining me and over 50,000 others who have signed the libel reform petition at http://www.libelreform.org/sign
Remember, you can sign the petition whatever your nationality and wherever you live. Indeed, signatories from overseas remind British politicians that the English libel law is out of step with the rest of the free world.
If you have already signed the petition, then please encourage friends, family and colleagues to sign up. Moreover, if you have your own blog, you can join hundreds of other bloggers by posting this blog on your own site. There is a real chance that bloggers could help change the most censorious libel law in the democratic world. You can be a hero, right here, today!
I don't know any prominent science blogger who has not been threatened with libel at one time or another (including me). If we want to continue free expression of ideas, especially our ability to criticise charlatans and frauds, we must speak out to defend free speech. Please sign the petition for libel reform at http://www.libelreform.org/sign
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Psst - embargo break! This is meant to go up at 14.00GMT (I got the email sent to me too!).
Damn, I will report myself to the authorities for excessive use of exclamation marks.
Still important if you're not a British citizen:
http://www.laughinginpurgatory.com/2010/11/free-speech-is-under-attack-…
I will report myself to the authorities for excessive use of exclamation marks.
My mother asked me what I wanted to do with my life at dinner today. She basically wanted to know what I wanted to be because I had been putting that decision off for quite some time, however, I had my mind made up when my mother asked me the question.